In this Covid threatened world, the beach seems to be the one place where there’s a sense of normalcy. People can stay far enough away from each other that the spread is minimalized. I guess I’ll know in a few days if I’m right or wrong. Our hotel on South Beach was built in 1936, once known as the Edgewater but restored by Marriott. Art Deco surrounds us from the vibrant restaurant scene to the design of the lifeguard stations.  The beach, however, is much more crowded than our previous stops, but our room comes with a cart complete with chairs, towels, umbrella, and cooler to further keep us sanitized. 

Today  we head to Vero Beach and historic “Dodgertown.” The friend we’re visiting is the daughter of a former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher. With L.A. just winning the World Series it only seems appropriate to visit the site. We’ll return to South Beach at the end of the day after returning our rental car to the airport. It will be the end of too much driving and not enough sunning. There are a few faint suntan lines starting to define themselves on my too pale skin. Hopefully, I can build a permanent tan once we’re officially Florida residents, instead of waiting for occasional Portland sun breaks. 

We dined at Walgreen’s last night – a gourmet first- after a heavy breakfast at the Naples Cracker Barrell. We’ll have a nice lunch in Vero Beach today and maybe a frozen pizza or White Castle sliders, remnants from our drug store shopping, once we get back in our room. It won’t be long before we’re enjoying the pricy South Beach restaurants, but saving a little money is a wise retirement choice. Maybe, I’ll even have a hot dog snack at “Dodgertown” this afternoon. Vero Beach here we come!